Where to Start with a Bathroom Remodel
How to determine the best place to start with your bathroom remodel.
At a Glance
Where to Start with a Bathroom Remodel
The best place to start a bathroom remodel is your daily routine, not a design board. Note what isn’t working, sort your ideas by priority, and set a budget range before you compare finishes. From there, a free in-home consultation turns your list into a real plan with measurements, options and pricing, and our factory-trained and certified installers handle the work that shouldn’t be a DIY job.
- List the problems you run into every day, like a sticking shower door or a slippery tub floor.
- Sort your ideas into needs, wants and safety items so you know where to spend first.
- Pick a budget ceiling early, and consider financing if the project you want feels out of reach.
- Leave plumbing, fit and sealing to a professional, since hidden damage turns up in about half of bathrooms.
- Many remodels can be installed in as little as one day once your custom products are built, though local permits can add time.
A bathroom remodel is one of the most common home renovation projects, but most homeowners don’t know where to start. Deciding where to start has less to do with design and more to do with a handful of practical decisions you have to make before you ever pick a finish.
This step-by-step guide is designed to help walk you through the process and know exactly what to ask for when you request a consultation.
In This Article
- Start With an Honest Assessment of the Bathroom
- Sort Your Wish List Into Three Categories
- Set a Budget Before Falling in Love with Finishes
- Decide Between a Full Bathroom Remodel or Individual Upgrades
- Know When to Call a Professional
- What Happens at a Free In-Home Consultation
- Set a Realistic Timeline
Start With an Honest Assessment of the Bathroom
The most common starting point for homeowners is usually a design board, but that doesn’t give you an honest look at how you use the space every day. Walk through your everyday routine and notice where it breaks down. Maybe the shower door sticks, the bathtub floor gets slippery, or the vanity has never had enough storage.
Take note of these problems so that your list becomes the starting point for every decision that follows. A bathroom remodel built around your actual routine holds up a lot longer than one built around a design board.
Sort Your Wish List Into Three Categories
Once you know what isn’t working for your needs, sort your ideas into three buckets:
- Needs: These are the problems that affect daily use.
- Wants: Upgrades that would be nice to have, but aren’t dealbreakers.
- Safety Items: Anything related to accessibility for household members who need it now or will need it down the road.
This type of exercise will help you determine which parts of the project are worth spending on first if your budget doesn’t stretch to everything at once.
Set a Budget Before Falling in Love with Finishes
The cost of a bathroom remodel varies greatly depending on the fixtures and finishes. Determining a budget range early on helps keep your wish list grounded before you start comparing finishes. You don’t need an exact number, just a general ceiling you’re comfortable with and a sense of which bucket you’re willing to spend the most on.
If a price feels out of reach right now, financing can help widen what’s realistic without requiring you to pay for the entire project upfront. Knowing that option exists before you start shopping can make it easier to plan for the project you actually want instead of the one you think you can afford.
Decide Between a Full Bathroom Remodel or Individual Upgrades
Some bathrooms only need one thing addressed, and others need several updates. Knowing which situation you’re in changes how you plan the project.
An individual upgrade makes sense when you find that only one piece is holding the bathroom back, like a cracked tub or shower that’s become hard to keep clean. A full bathroom remodel makes more sense when you have several needs or safety concerns stacking up.
Combining upgrades into a single project is usually more efficient than tackling them one at a time, since your installer is already on site.
Know When to Call a Professional
Some parts of a bathroom remodel are reasonable to handle yourself, and some aren’t worth the risk. Small cosmetic changes, like painting your cabinets or swapping out a mirror, are usually safe to do on your own, but larger projects like a shower replacement are a different story.
Getting the fit and sealing right takes specialized equipment and experience. This is why Long Home sends factory-trained and certified installers to handle every replacement. The same goes for accessibility features, to ensure everything is properly anchored and doesn’t present a safety risk. If a project touches your plumbing or fixtures, it’s worth having a professional confirm the details before work begins.
Hidden damage is also extremely common in bathrooms, which might require a professional to spot. Riley Collins, Production Manager at Long Home, says there’s a “50/50 chance” of finding hidden damage in a bathroom. “When we do find hidden damage, it usually means a complete gut of the wet area specifically. Not the whole bathroom, but the wet area right down to the studs.” It’s important to know your limits and when to pull in an expert.
What Happens at a Free In-Home Consultation
An in-home consultation is where your list turns into an actual plan. A design consultant visits your home, takes measurements throughout your bathroom, and walks you through the options that best fit your space.
You’ll also get a chance to talk through your budget range and align on the priorities from your three categories. This is a chance to get real options and pricing in front of you before you decide anything.
Set a Realistic Timeline
Once you’ve had your consultation and chosen your projects, the timeline comes together quicker than most people expect. Most bathroom remodels, including bathtub replacements, can be completed in as little as one day. Some areas require permits and inspections by local municipalities before work starts, which can add time to the schedule.
Between your consultation and your installation date, expect a few weeks for your custom installation to be built to your exact measurements. From consultation to installation, Long Home keeps you informed at every stage of building your custom bathroom.
Author
When a refresh isn’t enough and the tub, shower, or layout itself is the problem, Long Home’s bath remodeling team can help. Schedule a free consultation.